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Topic: Healthy(ish) Christmas Brunch (Read 2439 times)

Every year I make brunch on Christmas morning, eaten after opening gifts and before the rounds of family visiting start. I've been doing Weight Watchers for a few months and am trying to keep things healthy-ish but still festive and good for the non-WW eaters. So far, I have a yummy sausage asparagus strata, cranberry muffins, and a fruit salad. Can anyone think of something I might be missing? It's not a big crowd, but it's the main meal of the day so I like to have lots of options and very filling.

For some diet healthy options, i would add someoven roasted pototoes (I am sure there are good WW recipes)oven roasted squash chunks (maybe steam first) (the buffet on the Ferries has this and it is a tasty addition to breakfast for some strange reason)another veggie of choice also roasted.

Well, since it is brunch I think you get a lot of leeway with the type of food you serve. I think you could do a gingerbread muffin to go with the cranberry (i think there is a WW recipe for that) and maybe spice some popcorn with savory or sweet flavors. You could make apple butter in the slow cooker. If you use a sweeter apple, you'll need less sugar. That goes well with crackers, toast, & muffins

We love this for a Christmas breakfast. It's fairly healthy. It's tasty. It's satisfying and, as Mr. Thipu says, it's something that could have been eaten by people who were living on the First Christmas.

Every year I make brunch on Christmas morning, eaten after opening gifts and before the rounds of family visiting start. I've been doing Weight Watchers for a few months and am trying to keep things healthy-ish but still festive and good for the non-WW eaters. So far, I have a yummy sausage asparagus strata, cranberry muffins, and a fruit salad. Can anyone think of something I might be missing? It's not a big crowd, but it's the main meal of the day so I like to have lots of options and very filling.

How about some kind of crustless vegetable/egg/cheese quiche?

or roast vegetables - I always make that for festive meals, i slice/quarter the veg, brush them with a mixture of olive oil/lemon (you can use balsamic if you like), mixed with garlic and herbs, sprinkle with coarse salt and roast till nice and brown. i use eggplant, red onion, fennel, squash, brocolli, mushrooms.

I also see you don't have a regular green/fresh salad so i would add that - big tossed salad or fresh veggie tray.

Homemade hummuse - while not low in cals or carbs is *very* filling. a little bit goes a long way.

deviled eggs.

how about soup? a nice butternut squash/pumpkin soup, or a more filling like minestrone or lentil soup?

I see you already have an asparagus dish, but we made fried potatoes this morning with a random bag of asparagus stir fry (asparagus, mushroom, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, squash, and onion) and they were reeeeeally good. It was about 50/50 potato vs. veggie, and quite satisfying without being all white carbs.

And how about some good nuts? Crunchy and satisfying, no work at all, and leftovers will keep nicely.

If you want to use bacon, make sure you use back bacon not streaky and cut off the fat before dry frying or griddling. The same applies to ham.

Griddled tomatoes or mushrooms. Baked mushrooms.

The most important thing is to cut off as much fat as possible and don't add any if you can help it. If you need to grease a pan, use less than a teaspoonful of oil and spread it over the pan with a heatproof pastry brush, so you need to use less.

An oatmeal bar sounds divine to me. You could add lots of toppings and have waffles or pancakes for people who want to go heavier. Crumbled bacon and sausage, dried and fresh fruits, nuts, cream/whipped cream, brown and/or maple sugar, chocolate/butterscotch chips, etc.

I like the idea of the oatmeal, and I would also suggest another savory dish that doesn't involve eggs. I have a strong aversion to eggs, and I never get to eat much at most brunches because so many of the dishes are egg-based.